Ouagadougou gives “a period of one month for the final departure of all French military personnel in service in the Burkinabé military administrations.
mo12345lemonde with AFP
Burkina Faso denounced a “military assistance agreement” signed in 1961 with France, a few weeks after obtaining the withdrawal of the French “saber” from this country in the grip of jihadist violence.
In a letter from the Burkinabé Foreign Affairs Ministry addressed to Paris and dated Tuesday, February 28, of which AFP had a copy, Ouagadougou “denounces the technical military assistance agreement, concluded in Paris on April 24, 1961, Between the Republic of Haute-Volta (former name of Burkina Faso) and the French Republic, including its two annexes “.
Burkina gives “a period of one month” following the reception of this letter for “the final departure of all French military personnel in service in the Burkinabè military administrations [sic]”.
On January 18, the authorities of Ouagadougou had asked for the departure, within one month, of the French force “saber” in Burkina Faso as well as that of the French ambassador, Luc Hallade. The latter was recalled in Paris to “conduct consultations”.
Diversify partnerships
On February 19, the Burkinabé army announced the end of “saber” operations in Burkina Faso, after a solemn flag descent ceremony within the Camp Bila Zagré, in Kamboinsin, on the outskirts of Ouagadougou, where The contingent of 400 special forces was parked.
Relations between France and Burkina have deteriorated since coming to power by a military coup, in September 2022, the second in eight months, of Captain Ibrahim Traoré.
The authorities have since expressed their desire to diversify their partnerships, particularly in the fight against jihadism which has been mine for this country for seven years. Among the new partners envisaged is Russia.
Burkina Faso, in particular in its northern half, has faced since 2015 with the attacks of groups linked to Al-Qaida and the Islamic State (IS) organization which have multiplied in recent weeks. They left thousands of deaths and at least 2 million displaced.